October 7, 2008

Ebay number: 120315126447

I went home this weekend in order to build and mount my recently completed Monome 64 kit in a metal case my dad found at a car boot sale. Ive been very excited about completing the kit for a while but haven’t had a chance to put it in a case / I didnt find a decent case and dont have sufficient tools to do the job.

Dad’s a luthier / cabinet maker and has a workshop and i was well over due a visit so i went home to do the work.

On arrival we realised the case wasn’t going to be sufficient due to… well it was too small basically… so we decided to utilise dad’s proffesion! of course there is a load of wonderful examples of monome cases all over the net that people have made, i guess really, it was just with the intention of having something a bit unique in mounting the kit in a metal box… it seemed like a good idea…

What we have ended up with is acctually preferable… it’s very classy. Below are many pictures showing the process of making the case and photos of the end product…

As soon as we decided to make the case outrselves from wood, dad found a small pile of Chestnut wood that he had had left over from a recent job and we discovered that there was enopugh to make a load of cases! Being the open community that the monome community is, i instantly decided to make a bunch and try to sell them to others users being that some people may well struggle to make a case.

The fact that dad’s a joiner means we’ve ended up with beautifully made, really lush quality / finished cases. The wood is a lovely colour finished…

We have put the bases in, and have made a hole for the usb cable using a special square hole making drill bit… we thought about mountings etc but decided it was best to allow people to decide how they want to do that as maybe some people have different faceplates or something. These cases are made specifically perfectly for the faceplates from XNDR here: http://www.machinecollective.org/groupbuy/monome_faceplates/

I guess many people who make the kits (like me) buy from him so there we go… the faceplates are 177 mm square so that’s the size of the top ‘hole’ on the cases. they are 52mm high. You will need to drill your own holes to mount your faceplate and the monome chip board with the usb plug on it yourself.

there’s not much play / we dont have time to make these to order really… but of course ask if you’d like to any questions, id like to be able to give back any way i can to the community for all help they’ve given me in the building of this, plus just massive props to Brian Crabtree and the whole monome bag for this so amazing fantastic monome beauty we have here in this here crrrazy world!

If your interested in buying one, we’ve thought long and hard about the price and have come to the figure of £25.00 plus postage. We’re happy to post them anywhere and are selling through ebay because then everyone knows its legit and safe, my old dear (mum) has a great ebay score and you’ve got come back if anything goes wrong.

July 13, 2008

so.i got a monome kit. I didnt get offered it i got it from one which was put on em411.com by someone who didnt want it anymore as they had made something else to their own specs.

i had never made anything like this before. I have lots of soldering experience from soldering leads / jacks on guitars etc before, and plus i did an electronics GCSE back in school but i had to work so hard to get that c grade. i never expected to use my electronics skills again. Funny how loads about these projects
was familiar, like the orientation of components and things like that. little things.

Anyway. I am doing a proper detox this weekend also – nothing excepet crackers and green/mint tea! these look like this:

green and mint - tea good for you

I decided to get some kits to make before jumping into doing the monome. im really glad i did this. my first kit selection was a scrolling message display which, looking at the packet should hopefully end up looking like this:

this is what the packet looks like and what it should too!

so… after about 40 minutes i ended up with this bad boy:

the end product

And just to prove it works : Light’s down!

I also purchased a ‘secret micr / speaker’ ket for going in the room next door and bugging the room to listen in from the room next door. After my remarkable success with the scrolling thing, and my new found confidence in soldering with my new amazing soldering iron (from maplins:) i decided to crack on with the monome board. I did this after a few more cups of tea and some crackers. hhmm gotta love them crackers.

here’s me soldering iron:

my nice new soldering iron from maplins

and for the record, i have been drinking my green/mint tea with honey and lemon in it – thats very good for you.

MONOME

So i was scared of buggering the monome board up, but i learned couple of little tricks whilst making the display, what was so good about it was it uses LEDs. I havnt acctually got any LEDs yet
for my monome, but anyway… i decided to solder the pcb / firmware chip.

It was getting dark so i re located from the kitchen window into my room. this also allowed me to open up the monome site and follow the tutorial really well. I hung a lamp over my workspace so i could see well… then i lay out my chips and shiznit like this:

monome parts

then i soldered it all together.

finished monome firmware chip bit.

its pretty simple really once you get soldering down. However, im thinking the diodes and the LEDs are going to be a diff story as the diodes are minute… really damn small. And theres obviously lots of them. It was tricky to get the leds on my scroller to line up correctly… so the momome has to be perfect man. itll be ok im sure xx

Im thinking UV LEDs. im gonna go look for some now… will update this when i come round to that part of the process.

I first saw Mr Scruff DJing one long set for the length of an entire 3 day festival! Now, im not one for stereotypes, but i noted the presence of ‘hippies’, ‘townies’ and scamps alike in the audience. Our paths crossed again at uni in Timepiece! The almighty student pit described by Mr scruff himself as “that place”, I couldnt have said it better myself! With three hugely popular albums and fingers in multiple pies… hailing from Manchester, and proceeded undoubtedly by his imense reputation, the legend that is: “Scruff – let’s talk art, bussiness and vinyl…”

Hi, how are you doing? Im phoning about the interview with Beat Happening…

No problem, Yea very well

Hows the weather?

rubbish… had a good weekend though, thats Britain for you though i guess… you?

Alright, except there was a thunder storm last night…

At least we’ve had it better than you!

Yeah ha! – I may or may not stick to my questions… do you do many interviews over the phone?

about five a week at the moment…

You working on a new album coming out?

No, not for a while… just some new music… various bits and bobs… making good use of the phone!

The first question is fairly generic… in terms of the aesthetic of your music, what makes someone’s music their own?

Well, anyone who makes music personal to them, ends up with a mixture of personality and influences… for me, a DJ, Im influenced by a hell of a lot. For a very long time ive been interested in the social conditions and the history behind the people who made the music. I get a lot of inspiration, and a lot of ideas this way.

So your more interested in making music for yourself than the masses?

Well… basically just enjoying it i think… trying out new stuff, not being too scientific. im not bound by genre, kind of bass noise or tempo. I just put a bit of a twist on stuff and it happens. Some music that’ss 50 years old puts a modern music to shame. Nothing’s really new, just combinging peoples ideas, nuances, subtlties and presenting them in a different way or different context. Having a knowledge of everything, house to blues, dubstep to cuban music, to latin, to reggae, disco, to library music, to classical music, or whatever… I can create a lot of happy accidents… and also, draw connections within music, like being in a lab with loads of mad chemicals and finding what goes together!

How many records you got then?

20,000 or something. I have a few of rooms full of them, im married so i gotta keep it a little bit under control. There’s no way you could ever possibly listen to them all anyway.

Do you still enjoy listening to records?

With that amount of records, your always discovering things that you forgot you even had. There would be no point if i wasnt enjoying it. When something comes out of your hobby, as long as you maintain the right attitude to it, dont start doing stuff you wouldnt normally do, just coz your getting paid for it, then theres no reason why you shouldnt carry on enjoying it. I was djing and collecting music for over ten years before i got my first gig. Its habbit. it has always felt like that, and still feels like that to this day, only today, but i dont have to work in quick save! Im always aware of how lucky i am, that i can play whatever i want, and that i can make a living from it, but i definately dont take it for granted.

Do you feel a kinship with the Manchester scene?

There’s so much music going on in the city, its incredible… I think because its had a legacy for quite a while, you know, northern soul, punk, factory records, it attracts people, it definately has more than its fair share of talented, creative people.

Do you feel more on the live music side of things there than say, the ‘glitch electronica scene’?

Not really man, its not segreagated. Theres so much music that you can’t really keep up with all of it. I love Skam records, as much as… well, a lot of the indie and rock, you get all sorts… Manchester’s city centre is actually quite small, there is such a lot going on, but its not like in say London where you can just surround yourself with people who are just into one kind of music… there’s no like glitch electronica scene, everyone pretty much knows each other, and there’s not that many venues either…so your just sort of squished in to gether…

Like a melting pot?

No, not really like a melting pot, more like a crowded bus! you get to know what other people are up to, you can’t avoid people really… its good.

Sounds like you like it!

Yeah, definately, ive lived here of 25 years so…

What do you think of the music industry then? the state of it? you must have been asked this a hundred times!

Its on everybody’s lips, everyone wants an answer and nobody has one! The industry has only been around for sort of, 125 / 130 years and we’ve had loads of format wars… the thing is, its going from physical to non physical this time, which throws up loads of issues…

Such as?

Payment, obviously… people are expecting music for free… and the way its distributed, i mean you can get 10,000 mp3s on your ipod, but it will sound like a transistor radio, so were going forwards in terms of convenience and portability, but backwards in terms of quality. It could end ‘bodies’ of work, with people downloading single tracks and whatever. The internet is great in terms of hearing stuff you might not otherwise hear, but theres about an extra 100 000 rubbish tunes on there as well. I expect some 14 year old who lives in orkney will probably come up with a solution to it all!

The people in the most trouble are the major record labels, they have had complete control over pressing plants, distribution, retail, and the machines the music is played on… its getting blown apart a bit, and you’ve got companies like Tesco who think “well ‘we’ve got a hundred thousand outlets, we’ll sign the next Paul Mcartney album’ . its odd.

cool.well i saw you play at a festival somewhere… about ten years ago… an epic long set… i have a signed ticket you singed when you played at timepiece in exeter while I was a student too…

oh that place.

Ha ha yeah. All the best for the future! thanks for talking to us.

You can find Mr Scruff a this official homepage http://www.mrscruff.com or at http://www.myspace.com/mrscruffofficial. He is signed to nija tune and has had two massive releases through them, namely Keep It Unreal (Ninja Tune, 14 July 1999) and Trouser Jazz (Ninja Tune, 16 September 2002). Ninja also recently released his first album titled Mrs. Cruff (re-release) (reissue of Mr. Scruff, 5 May 2005). Check it.

July 9, 2008

Takes place at concorde 2 brighton, 06/06/06 – Overkill special Halloween party backstage with some very cool people such as Mike Paradinas, Scotch Egg, Ned Beckett etc

Having briefly read through this again i see now its bit hard to follow sometimes i think… anyway – sorry if it is!

Venetian snares / Aaron Funk: whats your name?
A.D. Halliday: my name’s andi, Aaron is it? how are you doing?
V: im doing good – Im sweating, my name’s fifi!
A: ok – is it ok to ask you some questions… first question… written in about ten minutes Im afraid, well… – here we go
Mike paradinas (Aron’s label boss / boss of Planet mu recordings) Yeah, well – none of it can be about music!
V: No! Its merely stipulation – !
A: oh, ok , nothing to do with music, right…
M.P.: (jokes) What’s your favourite colour?
V: Black crayons!!!
M.P. what’s your favourite sexual position?
V: I don’t know Ive never had sex…
MP: (and…) what’s your favourite pizza?
V: Mushroom… Double mushrooms…
A: Have you had pizza in England?
V: I think I’ve had pizza in England before.
MP: who’s your favourite member of girl’s aloud?
V: who’s that..whats that…
American woman: : they’re pretty bad. Fucking shite..
A: Girls aloud are pretty rubbish.
MP: girls aloud are fucking wicked.
A: OK… I beg to differ man… like…
MP: that one song they did that was good was good… there was a homo version they did… that was good.
A: I don’t know any girls aloud tracks…
V: (answer to previous question) doggy style is my favourite sexual position.
A: Ok its time for you to answer a rubbish question.. or rather an arty question.
Can You identify the sources of such extraordinary emotion in your music…
[general banter]
V: Pardon me? You want me to do what?
[general bafflement…struggling]
A:you know… your music is hard hitting but also very extremely melodic and beautiful…
V: I guess so. The music lately, that I make around my house is a little different. I don’t know, I make music when I’m crying,
MP: Sadness.
V: yes, sadness,
MP: Sadness but joyous sadness. Take your joy and be sad about it.
V: beautiful, but painful.
A: well, there we go – that’ll do!
[giggles of disbelief and wonderment]
A:ok – so, do you have a particular working process?
V:Don’t ask me questions like that man. (laughs)
A:ok. How has your music changed since you’ve been able to travel and play your music to ever expanding audiences?
V: I don’t know.
A: Before you started making music and played to people, did you ever have crap jobs? Like you know… I’ve been a bin man before, a dustbin man.
V: A what? You mean like… well my last real job (laughs a lot ‘my last real job hahaha’)
Was a delivery driver. It was fucking wicked man. I was a delivery driver for a bakery. I loved that job I got fired because I crashed the van. I was driving around this like massive stereo, cos this van had these massive speakers and so id listen to music all day, running around. Free cakes all day. I was backing up really fast. You cant get fired for that so… It was good when I crashed it actually, I got to go on unemployment and so I went on unemployment until it ran out… that was wicked.
A: how much you get for that?
V : you get like half your salary every two weeks. You fill out a form…
A: were you living with your parents during this time?
V: no I was living with my girlfriend, this was a long time ago – about five years ago. But she’s not my girlfriend anymore though…
A: haha has there been a few since then?
V: yeah, quite a few…!
A: An arty question: How do you interpret the musical landscape we live in today?
AW: fuck!!
V: Its like trying to avoid stepping in poo.
A: Avoiding the crap?
V:sure..
A: how do you do with that? You manage it ok..
V: sure
[enter brighton’s DJ Scotch Egg, Aaron’s part time touring buddy in UK/Europe]
SE: Hey!
V: Egg! Hey How are you?
SE: Hi How you?…..
V: just perfect.….OK next!
A: How powerful do you think music is politically?
V:I don’t know?
A: Are you interested in politics? As interested as you average man?
V: How interested in politics is your average man? Im not that interested in politics. Who fucking cares… Canada is where the politics are!
AW: that’s why I moved to England!
A: would you consider moving to England?
V: No, I don’t wanna live in England.
A:England’s a bit rubbish..
V:Its alright, you should see where I live. (laughs a dark laugh)
A: Im from the country. You ever been to dorset?
V: I dont know… I cant remember.
A: where have you been on tour?
V: I don’t know. Rome, France, Austria, Vienna, Cambridge and here. The one in the alps was the best. It was loud (MP agrees).
A:How do you think brighton’s gonna turn out?
V: looks good.
A: I read somewhere on the internet that you were a bit hesitant before joining forces with Mike and Planet – Mu. Has that turned out for the best after all?
MP: HA!! So that’s why you sent me a demo – cos you didn’t want to be on my label!
V: I never sent you a fucking demo!?!
MP: Yes you did
V: yeah but you asked me to – you said you’d bought my record and that you wanted to hear some more tracks.so I sent you a cd. And you sent me loads of planet mu records.
A: so that’s working out for the best then?
V: yep, the more I spoke to mike the more it sounded like a cool idea!
(general banter and laughter people coming in and out of backstage room)
A:cool.
V: yes, now were really special friends! Ha ha ha
I’m not like regular people man, I don’t sit down and think im gonna do this, I’m gonna go to school, and then college and then get a job and settle down and have a kid, then a house, have a kid, and then another kid, and at the weekends have a barbeque… I don’t know…
MP/OTHERS: “Your not like regular people…”
V: I AM NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!! –Your all fucked up!
A: Thanks very much.
V Your welcome!
MP/V: N>e>d> what time are we all playing? It’s n>e>d>’s birthday…

We then took on a new one at the marina, in Brighton. It was adjacent to another studio that had been there for a while. We suffered a similar death there as the noise levels were to much for them to record.

Also, steve, our main gear man went to india for a year, so we have wound up with loads of gear and nowhere to play with it… i mean use it. Its a bit of a sod. In fact that reminds me i gotta remember to collect the reel to reel… dont worry Steve I will do that!

We are now semi thinking about finding a new studio.

This is because Flash Bang Band: ( http://www.myspace.com/flashbangwallop ) has started getting itself together and are anticipating practicing regularly, and as i have made clear in blogs before, i find it much more interesting and better etc… to have your own studio space. esp when you share it with some musical mates…

The new place we may take on is a studio near my house that is essentially an office – it posing the same kind of problems – i see it all going a bit tits up but you never know, with a bit of soundproofing it could work out just fine.

An amazing thing is that as well as the office, the landlords have a 1 mile long tunnel up for lease! Its way out of our budget but imagine using it as a natural reverb or having a rave? Or recording a car inside it? Its massive and very cool. But its also damp and would need stupid money. We dont have stupid money – “Back to the office” then i guess. The tunnel used to be a railway tunnel. Its actually pretty darn clean inside, a bit damp and what have you, but its huge and inspiring to say the least!

So thats that really. Im making most of my music at home as a result but even thats a bit hindered at the moment due to old computer syndrome… My mac done good though seriously!

October 21, 2007

James Last is a very cool dude, even though he does site Justin Timberlake as his favourite new artist!

i cant convert the crap phone recording to mp3 so cant host it so read it here:

JAMES LAST INTERVIEW

AH: hello is this james last?
J: yes!
AH: Hi james, I have an interview organised with you to do over the phone.
JL: Eh uh eh eurgh [splutter] do you have the time?
AH: The time? Do you have the time?
J: yea, um I don’t know – you are booked here? – I don’t know
AH: Yea, at 2.20
J: Ok Andy start!
AH: Ok lets go!

AH: Who and what has been the main inspiration to you over the years?

There are so many things.I don’t know – classical music, pop music, doesn’t matter, just music, anything which inspires me. I like to listen to good music all the best, the best of the best from the best of the best.

AH: So your inspired more by other music than life experiences?

JL: Yes – I like the good music – you know, whatever turns me on, young guys, making good music, its for me to listen to I can use it for my kind of music also!

AH: Do you find performing any different as you grow older?

JL: I like it very much to be in front of an audience, when people in front of you like what your doiung is beautiful!

AH Is it any more difficult to perform as you get older?

JL I am not old! I am not old I am young… How old are you?

AH: 24

JL Your just at the beginning of your life! You know I feel young, I work with young musicians – it keeps me young I think so.

AH: How have you seen the music industry change over the years?

JL: I don’t know whats going on you know. The groups, glum rum um nerm studios!, little ones, some young guys work at home on the computer. So not as much space for a big orchestra like we are you know? 40 in an orchestra, 40 technicians and guys, 80 people on tour.

AH: so not as many places for such a big organisation to play.

JL: That’s right! But we still play in big concert halls but you know they are expensive.

AH: What’s your philosophy on what music should achieve and how it should effect the listener?

JL: it should be to think positive. Have a good positive effect on the listener, a good way. To go on! Otherwise what we are doing is just a hardworking day for a nice evening you know.

AH: Is there any new music that excites you at the moment?

JL: Yes, um er Justin Timberlake – the last concert I went to.

AH: what’s the highest points of your career?

JL: Could be tommorow –I do not know!

AH: haha and what aboput in the past?

JL: I played at the openings of both the Albert hall and the sydney opera house. They were highlights, only highlights though… No one ever there before.

AH: Why do you think the UK has taken to your music more than any other country?

JL I don’t know, just people have been very into my music all of my life. Its fantastic here. 35 years – people are still coming. Even people as old as you! Still coming… it’s a good sign you know.

AH: For people not familiar with youtr work, what can they expect from your performances?

JL: old arrangements, new arrangements, new pieces. I don’t lie. U2!

AH So your going into retirement now then?

JL: Sorry? – No – cant retire.

AH you cant retire from a job like yours?!

JL – No cant retire.

AH: What about after this tour?

JL: I am doing the music for a movie – women cannot park – a car, and men cannot listen.

AH: from the book

JL yes its from the book.

AH: I met the author –

JL Ah how funny?

AH: How would you like your legacy to be remembered?

JL As a normal guy – for the people. I am a real person, I am not a superstar – you can touch me. My son works with me on tour. I love the internet, everything. To the moon! I work on a computer. I use cubase, software. I like it all, I love cubase.

April 25, 2007

So we have arrived! Finally, after about six months of scraping for cash, gear, hoping for a result, the studio has been completed. We actually can hardly believe the fact. It has been a mission! We still have a few issues with various people regarding our existence but there we go.

The studio is below a dojo, next to another dojo, has rubbish electrics, no real light in the live room, and people trapse through the studio every five minutes to go and train their po-na na skills or whatever they do.

All in all we are totally chuffed with having our own studio which is kitted out like so:

1 x 24 track SOUNDCRAFT analog mixing desk (used to belong to Dave Watts of the Tornadoes / as in produced by Joe Meek!),

April 24, 2007

In march 2006 a new media arts and electronic music festival took place over three days in Vilnius, Lithuania. The festival featured an eclectic mix of electronic musicians and new media art professionals such as Janek Schaffer, Chris Clark, Frans De Ward and Andrew Coleman (aka: Animals on Wheels) who over the three days gave seminars, talks and performances relating this area of academic music & art.

The festival was my idea 🙂 – When I went to Lithuania during my second year of university, I had an awful lot of fun, however, I also had to achieve some academic ‘stuff’ so as part of my time there, I volunteered in the local New media / arts Centre INTRO situated just over the road from the academy.

I began by organising a few small parties (most events in lithuania are referred to simply as ‘parties’) These were a raging success. One such party was called INTRONATIONAL. The idea was to invite as many foreign exchange students as possible to INTRO from all over Lithuania, in all the different disciplines, to have a big party, to mix the people together and just see how it went down!

I also had free reign of a very slow and old PC conected to the internet. Using this I began what would become a two year drawn out process – organising Balticoco.

I emailed about 100 different organisations in the UK and Europe in an attempt to get them to agree to come and give shows in Vilnius for cheap rates. IE: I sold Lithuania on it’s beauty to organisations who came accross as either politically, socially aware etc… and apealled to them to come and share vibrancy in the area. I emailed Hospital Records, Ninja Tune, Warp, Rephlex – all the labels I could find, that I had been looking at over the previous two years and listening to in the hope they’d allow there better nature’s prevail.

Alas – one such organization replied with interest. c0c0s0l1dc1t1 – an organisation based out of Montreal and Manchester were interested in coming over to do some kind of festival / projec offering the services of sound artists, media artists etc. to give presentations and seminars in their respective disciplines.

Over the next two years, after I had left Lithuania, and even graduated University, I watched as the festival grew from an idea into a reality. Posting requests and information between a contact in c0c0s0l1dc1t1, and INTRO hardly believing anything was gonna happen at all. I wrote press releses for the British Council, phoned Turkey to speak with c0c0, emailed everyday during my lunch times out from my job, wrote to the British Council, made a pain in the ____ of myself to Arts tutors at the Academy in Lithuania apealing for computers and some kind of cooperation between them and INTRO. By the time I had finished uni and spent the first year doing all this for free, chasing what had become by now like a dream – there was no way I was giving up. This event was gonna happen and that was that. By now I was so determined, I would have done nearly anything to make it happen.

It was all worth it in the end, as what I got, for my efforts, was an electronic music and new media arts and education festival, my flight paid for, my accomodation paid for and free meals / booze for the whole weekend, and I can say I was responsible for the conception, organisation and realisation of my ‘dream’, giving something worthwhile back to a place that opened it’s arms to me, and gave me such a fantastic opportunity.

I chilled out over the weekend and talked art and idiocy with loads of almost fictional stars of the electronic music / arts scenes I was interested in. Chris Clark (Clark), Janek Schaffer, Frans De Ward etc… It was an unbelieveable experience. I didnt get paid but who cares? I am remembered as the organiser of this event and that is so much worthier a drive than money.

Thank you to the artists involved, the funders, Vygis (INTRO Manager, partner in organisation), Toby @ c0c0s0l1dc1t1 (third arm in organisation, provider of contact to mass of incredible artists – indebted to for the draw of the event)

The weekend was very special for all involved actually as many of the artists knew each other and were able to really relax and enjoy so much of the event.